Chaos abounds in this teaching life.

While the mess whirls around us, there are places we can come to land. We hope you will join us for the 2023 ICTE Fall Conference–Clarity in Chaos: Centering Humanity, Illuminating Purpose.

On Thursday, we will learn with Dave Stuart, Jr., a social studies and English teacher who has coined a term we love: Long-term flourishing.  According to Dave, “Long-term flourishing is the real purpose of schooling. It's what every educator and parent on the planet hopes for their children. Long-term because we love the child not just for today or this year, but also in 20 years; flourishing because we know there are many viable paths to a useful, rich life.” 

Friday, we turn our attention to Dr. Seema Yasmin, whose new book What the Fact!? is geared toward teachers and students engaging in more thoughtful conversation around our media lives, combating misinformation, disinformation, and giving up the critical thinking skills we know are so important. Journalism teachers, teacher librarians, and ELA teachers alike will not want to miss Dr. Yasmin!  In a Publishers Weekly interview, she says, “I was motivated by bewilderment…the advice [students are] getting is often, ‘Don’t believe what you read,’ ‘Don’t trust the press,’ ‘Be skeptical of everything.’ But by telling them that, we’re putting them in a position of helplessness and hopelessness. We’re not empowering them with information and knowledge that can make them savvy consumers.” As we navigate our current chaos, it’s more important than ever that we cut through the clutter and seek out the truth. Dr. Yasmin will show us how to confidently empower our students to take control of their own information lives. 

We love that these two keynotes both encourage us to get back to basics of critical literacy skills that all students need but also encourage us to hope for a better future and expand our definition of what is possible. In addition to our keynotes, expect a wide range of breakout sessions focused on all the other ELA pedagogy you care about most.